March 26, 2016 - Philippines – My love for Port Barton

Port Barton. My absolute favourite at Palawan. Period. This little pearl along the westcoast of Palawan stole my heart. Port Barton is a little fisherman village and it has some beautiful islands and coral reefs which you can visit during a tour, but then for half of the money you pay for the same trip in El Nido. I did a tour that brought me at first to Twin Reef where I had my best snorkle expierence so far. All those different colours of the coral, the strangest, weirdest and fascinating fishes and water with a whole range of green and blue colours. After this I visited Big Reef where I saw a lot of blue starfishes while snorkeling. I had a lunch on Paradise Island which truly was like a paradise with a white beach and a few rocks on the sides. The afternoon break on German Island was even more stunning. I was hanging in palm trees, chilling in hammocks, played some volleyball and went snorkeling with turtles. I was in awe. These animals are amazing! The way they move forward is gentle but determined. It is as if they are telling me to slow down, take it easy and that everything will be okay. After this we took the boat during a full moon that lit the sea to Paradise Island again where we spent the night in a tent. We played card games, had a few sips of the good old Phillipine rum and coke and watched the full moon and stars while talking about the concepts of time and life. It is quite an expierence to emerge yourself in this whole island living and sure not one to forget.

Then Port Barton itself. With only a handful of tourists most of the people you will meet are the friendly Phillipino. In the village there is a huge basketball court and so every night you can watch a nice game of kids playing basketball. The road here is not paved and full of stones and rocks. Motorbikes leave trails of dust when they pass you by. On my bicycle I drove off to the smaller streets of Port Barton and there I passed people doing their laundry, working in the field or walking with their cow, children in school uniforms buying a few candies at the local store, chickens, goats and dogs along side the road and rice fields with the neverending palm trees drawing a line through the greenery landscape.

On the beach which has the chillest vibe ever, I made a new friend. I called him Freddy and he was the cutest puppy in town. Walking like he was drunk, running after me, try to rip my sarong in pieces while I was having my romantic moment in the sand: Freddy did it all and made me smile. Big time.

If you only have a short time in the Philippines, I would recommend Port Barton over El Nido. Port Barton is an amazing place where you can really feel and see the Phillipino lifestyle. I left a piece of my heart there and I will never forget this perfect spot on Palawan.